User blog:Crawler3333/Random Thoughts: The Dojikko Effect
Each and every person has its own weakness, and I'm truly aware of mine - at least when it comes down to anime female characters: the dojikko. For those who don't know, the dojikko it's a stereotype of female characters very common in anime that it could be summarized as "so clumsy that it's cute". Now, I'd like make clear a couple of things: the dojikko it's that kind of female character that I find amusing and appropriate only in slice of life anime. Even if I don't necessarily dislike those characters in other genres, they're hardly my favorite ones. One other thing it's that I don't generally find these characters attractive. My ideal dojikko has to be lovely and funny, but has nothing to do with certain "appetites" that male viewers (and not necessarily them, if you get what I mean) might like in a female character. While being cute doesn't hurt for a dojikko, being outright sexy and appealing DOES in my humble opinion. With that said, here is my top 3 Dojikko list: '#3: Ayumu "Osaka" Kasuga (Azumanga Daioh)' If I were to make this list basing it on rational thought and plain objectivity, then Osaka would be easily at number one. With her big round eyes always open wide as she ponders about the mysteries of the universe (or maybe just watching dust floating around), this lovable character earned herself the 7th place in Newtype Magazine's top 100 anime heroines of 2002 - and it's not such a big surprise. Osaka's spacey expression makes me smile just by watching her on screen and her dreams about Chiyo's ponytails became easily some of the most crazy and hilarious sequences in anime's history. '#2: Yui Hirasawa (K-On!)' The reason why Yui is at this place in the list it's pretty difficult to explain, but I'll give it a try. Just on herself, Yui is nowhere as funny as Osaka. What truly make this character noteworthy it's that the anime/manga she's in it's a "semi-realistic" one (at least more realistic than Azumanga Daioh) , giving her quirks a whole different feel. While Osaka it's just a little more weird than her friends (Tomo isn't a genius, either), I can't help but think that Yui shows signs of some mental disorder (ADD/asperger and even some kind of semi-autism) because of the behavioral gap between her and pretty much every other character in the series. At this point I beg you all kind readers not to jump to easy conclusions: I'm not saying that throwing in a character with a mental disorder makes a story better. What I really love about K-on! it's that Kakifly and KyoAni never focused too much on this aspect. They managed to keep the story funny and light-hearted, managing to make Yui a lovable character with a deeper meaning that not everyone can see. As I would have watched Azumanga Daioh without Osaka (it would have never been the same though, that's for sure), I would have never cared about K-on! if it wasn't for Yui. '#1: Yasuna Oribe (Kill Me Baby!!)' At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if you all just stopped reading by seeing the first entry. "Why Yasuna, of all characters !?" - that's a very reasonable question, and it will be very, very hard to explain this one. An important role in this was actually the very negative response this anime got. I always felt the strong urge to side with the unpopular ones, and sure KMB! it's a hard one to defend. This anime is not a very funny one- but in my humble opinion it's not even as hideous as many say (I'm talking to YOU too, Japanator). And when it comes down to poor Yasuna, my heart melts in a unreasonable mix of simpathy and affection. Sure Yasuna it's an annoying, clumsy and naive brat who constantly makes silly, childish jokes. Her attempts to make her friend Sonya (and the audience) smile are so futile that they end up being pathetic - and yet there is some kind of greatness in that. Because Yasuna just wants to make Sonya's (and hers) life interesting, always trying something new, no matter how stupid can be. If Yasuna (and the whole series, at some extents) were a real person, she would be a misfit, unfortunate child no one cares about who just wants to be loved. At the end of the hide-and-seek episode, everyone quits playing without saying her a word, leaving her hiding in a thrash-can as the sun sets in the horizon: it was one of the most unexpectedly emotional moments I ever seen in an anime - I rarely felt so sad for an anime character all of sudden. And when it was all said and done and the last episode's credits were scrolling, the only thing that came into my mind was: "Arigato, Oribe Yasuna". Category:Blog posts